The United States and Britain threatened to beef up sanctions focusing on Mugabe and his allies. The European Union, which imposed economic and diplomatic sanctions last month after Mugabe refused to let its monitors observe the elections, has threatened further punishment. EU leaders are expected to discuss the situation in a summit in Spain this weekend.
"We do not recognize the outcome of the election because we think it's flawed," U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday after Zimbabwean officials declared that Mugabe had won another six-year term.
"We are dealing with our friends to figure out how to deal with this flawed election," Bush told a news conference in Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell alleged the Mugabe administration had subverted democratic principles and processes for more than two years.
"Mugabe can claim victory but not democratic legitimacy," Powell said. [End Excerpt]